Petrobras Seeks Halt to Odebrecht Drilling After Accident

Reuters | 08 November 2017

Credit: Carlos Jasso/Reuters.

The corporate logo of Odebrecht is seen inside of one of its offices in Mexico City, Mexico, 4 May 2017.

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro has asked Odebrecht’s offshore drilling arm to halt operations of a rig, according to a document seen by Reuters on 6 November, after an explosion there killed three people in June.

Petrobras also threatened to cancel contracts related to the Norbe VIII rig, according to an undated internal memo sent by Roberto Simoes, chief executive of Odebrecht Oil and Gas, Odebrecht’s offshore drilling unit.

Contract cancellations would be another blow for Odebrecht, which has been targeted in corruption probes in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America.

OOG, which has struggled in the wake of a widespread slowdown in the region and restricted access to credit following the scandals, reached an agreement with creditors to restructure billions of dollars in debt earlier this year.